U18 4-Nations: Zharkov Soars

McKeen's Hockey's number one-rated Russian for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft Vladimir Zharkov was, to no surprise of ours, the best Russian at the Four Nations, despite scoring only one goal to Vasyunov's four. We have insight on six more Russians, including the latest revelations Alexander Ryabev (53rd rated) and Vladimir Voronkov.

Vladimir Zharkov (2006), RW

Maybe the best skater in the tournament .. burned German defenders with great bursts of speed in the first match .. a constant driving force with great feet and a knack for succeeding in traffic .. just as good against the Czechs but was slightly less noticeable in the final game against Slovakia where he wasn't a threat on every shift .. almost impossible to contain physically because he is slippery like an eel .. uses the boards smartly, dancing with the puck around opponents .. good understanding of the developing play .. strong playmaker with very good vision and decent in-close finishing skills .. quick wrist shot is very nice although his slapper could be harder .. could be more airtight with his defense .. definitely the most impressive Russian here.

Alexander Ryabev (2006), RW

Made considerable progress since our last viewing in August .. smoother and with more flash and dash to complement his speed and diligence .. speedy player can execute at full throttle and drives the net hard .. did however lose steam into the third game, after an eye-opening start - perhaps a minor conditioning factor .. team-oriented at both ends of the ice .. impressive one-on-one hesitation moves and showed enough imagination to create plays .. crafty with a nifty wrist shot .. looks stronger although his lower body could use further weight training .. could be more aggressive in terms of the way he uses his body .. willing to muck for pucks with determination in the corners .. did not take odd shifts off, the kind of work ethic he impressed us with in August as well .. starting to look like a serious prospect.

Vladimir Voronkov (2006), C

Pleasant surprise for Russia, as was Zachupeyko .. a bullish, determined player with streaks of nastiness and some downright dirty play .. led the tourney in PIM (27), mostly because he received a match penalty for a nasty foul on an opponent .. regularly stuck his nose in traffic and showed a spring to his step .. missed the game against the Czechs due to a match penalty .. final game against Slovakia did open some eyes, such as the stickhandling facet whereby he was able to use both sides of the blade skillfully .. agile skater who can explode on the puck but isn't blazing fast .. showed a certain smoothness on the puck and the ability to share the puck intelligently .. made some fuzzy decisions when pressed by opponents and did not read plays quickly enough on certain shifts .. quick wrist shot and pretty good slapper but lacked accuracy .. battled in traffic, looking bigger than size would indicate .. did an adequate job returning back on defense.

Pavel Doronin (2006), D

Half-baked rearguard who can really skate .. showed some temper issues after Vasily Vinogradov went down with an injury .. tried to hit everything in sight which hurt his team defensively .. many erratic passes when pressured .. has pointman skills but most shots did not get through traffic .. a virtual non-factor against Slovakia where he calmed down somewhat but looked unsure how to use his skating skills .. needs to develop better balance and lower body strength .. lack of size compensated by mobility .. promising vision despite some poor decision making .. hard slap shot but there was a timing issue at the point .. raw positionally due to his lack of a cool demeanour .. has progressed in terms of his physical awareness .. an average crease clearer .. if he gets stronger he could really improve his draft stock.

Anton Glavatsky (2006), RW

Flashy waterbug with offensive skill but is smallish, weakly and floats too much .. even the Germans got under his skin when they played the body .. peripheral and mostly poor on the defensive side .. avoided the slot often .. choppy stride, quick feet allow him to explode on the puck .. top speed can burn defenders .. quick, accurate wrist shot with a sharp release .. pretty good hands, but has trouble penetrating towards the net .. not a factor in traffic .. uses his stick instead of body .. intensity waned.

Vadim Golubtsov (2006), RW

Unlike Glavatsky he got better as the tournament went on after some struggles against Germany .. finesse player with speed and got more and more comfortable in utilizing it gradually .. started driving the net against the Czechs and even battles in traffic .. nifty and dangerous one-on-one .. unpredictable and elusive .. very stealthy player who loves to sneak his way for a breakaway .. good hands; impressive backhand passes .. adequate vision; nothing elite .. modest-sized frame hurts him .. unlike Glavatsky he showed the willingness to get into the slot .. raw positionally in his own end, although his mobility is very useful in that regard.